As we reported this week, San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker sat out of Tueday’s Asvel-Villeurbanne’s
66-62 loss against Lukoil Academic Sofia at the Eurocup.
And at that time, no reason was given as to why he sat out, however, according to French site Basket-ball.com, Parker has been dealing with a right shoulder injury and received an injection on his injured shoulder this past Saturday.
However, it was reported Sunday, through the newspaper 20 minutes, Tony Parker had received an injection in his right shoulder Saturday. It’s a pain that dragged on for three months! This injury prevented Tony Parker to participate in the Eurocup match Tuesday against Sofia (66-62 defeat).
According to the report, Parker will likely sit out Asvel’s next matchup against Strasbourg.
Parker has been the focal point of Asvel’s offense and has been carrying the load for the team. He is averaging 19.8 minutes in the French League and hasn’t had much help from other teammates on the offensive end. So it is safe to say there has been some wear-and-tear on Parker.
To make matters worse, with the NBA lockout in effect, so is the “no-contact” rule which doesn’t allow teams from contacting players or take on a hefty fine. So the Spurs coaching and medical staff cannot reach out to Parker to check up on his injury.
This is exactly what Spurs fans feared when TP decided to play in France during the lockout. And with signs pointing to the lockout possibly ending soon, an injured Parker in training camp is something the Spurs do not need.
However, Parker’s injury might not be as bad as it seems. According to the report, Parker has announced he will be playing in the French All-Star game at Bercy next month. Though he did say he will play regardless of any insurance issues.
If the report is true, I am sure the Spurs coaching staff might be pulling their hair out at this news and hope to see the lockout end sooner rather than later.
